eSport isn’t

To start off I think I should mention I live in Europe. I’m a huge fan of sports as a whole and have been following different kinds of sport since I could walk. I also follow American sports if nothing else is on – the first Super Bowl I was was in 1990 season. I’ve been involved in competitive gaming since I was a kid at different LANs or just tournaments at the local arcade.Other sports I follow or has followed include football, motorsports, rugby, tennis, martial arts and golf – just to mention a few.

If we’ve witnessed anything this past week or so it’s the fact that eSport really isn’t. Two of the biggest studios in competitive gaming these days (Riot and Valve) proved this without a doubt.
It seems like studios is content with just competitive gaming and not willing to make it into a true eSport.

League of Legends
Riot placed a game-changing patch before the playoffs and thereby altering the entire validity of the playoff teams and the structure of games in League of Legends. If you had a team that was brilliant at lane swaps, then you’re doomed not. So if you got your spot in the playoff due to this strategy they’ve taken away that strength of your team.

I’m not for or against the patch as a whole but I’m FULLY against making such a change during a split/before playoffs. It’s anything but professional and I have to question if Riot really want eSport in the end. My view is that they only care about the money. And I get that.. and that’s why I don’t think any studio should have any say in eSports. make the game and let people who know sports do the rest.

Counter-Strike:GO
Valve made a ban of coaching on stage or via coms during majors. This change is just as stupid in the end. Remember the days where the teams were made up of 4 good players and a direct shot caller who didn’t really have the same skill but was great at strats… is that what they want again?

I actually had this idea that the goal of any game was to have the best players and have them play as well as possible.
– also what would happen if a minor team qualified for a major and they didn’t have the budget for a coach but had a playing coach… could he play at all then?

Reality
Studios should ONLY create games and nothing more. We need professional people taking care of tournaments, leagues, playoffs or what not. As long as Studios have a say it can never be a true sport. There’s more than a 125 years of professional sports yet people in “eSport” ignore the knowledge that have been gained over that time.

This is even more obvious with the whole talk about having franchise teams in the NA side of League of Legends (like in any sport in the US). A thing that started because Cloud9 had a team in the LCS and a challenger team who actually did qualify for that same LCS for the upcoming split.
The fact that Riot (again) has no clue how to handle a situation like this is beyond my imagination. How can you create a league structure with relegation and promotion and NOT think this could happen?

There is a reason why people who really love sports don’t care about the American system. Franchises hurt sports. Only people owning the franchise or working for it can honestly say they have a good system. It’s as unexciting as it gets.

The reality is this: the longer there’s no eSport association who can teach studios and team owners how sports actually works, the shorter eSport will live.

My esport bias

Let's be honest for a second. I follow eSport as a whole but I certainly feel stronger for some teams, players or games than others. So let me just get the bias out there before someone breaks their ass on an article.